From Ocean of Peace to Ocean of Prosperity Remarks by Admiral Tomohisa Takei Chief of Staff and Commander Japan Maritime Self Defense Force Carnegie Endowment for International Peace July 29, 2015
(Remarks as prepared) INTRODUCTION Thank you for inviting me here today. This time the U.S. Navy has officially invited me to Washington D.C. Since the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace has kindly given me a precious opportunity to talk with promising research fellows, I spent about 30% of the time before my departure from Japan in preparing notes for this speech, and 20% in preparing for a dialogue with Admiral Greenert. For the rest of my time, 50%, my wife and I discussed how many dresses she should bring with her to the U.S. Today, entitling my speech, From Ocean of War to Ocean of Prosperity, I will talk about the Japan- U.S. Alliance in the future, especially the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF), and JMSDF s commitment based on the situation of the Indo-Pacific region. OCEAN OF WAR TO OCEAN OF PEACE If we can say that Japan s modernization started since the arrival of the East India Squadron of the U.S. Navy, it dates back 162 years, in July, 1853. Four black frigates commanded by Commodore Mathew Perry anchored near the entrance of Edo bay, or the present Tokyo Bay, and he urged the Edo feudal government to open the country. It was Japan s first encounter with modernized Western dynamism in 214 years since it closed the door to foreign countries in 1639. Since then, Japan started to walk rapidly along a road to modernization. At the same time, the road also meant to be the one which Eastern dynamism and Western dynamism collided against each other. For the next 100 years, the Western Pacific was Ocean of War in which two dynamisms fought against each other until the war between Japan and the Allies ended by the Treaty of Peace with Japan taking effect in 1952 after several wars including the Russo-Japanese War. The Maritime Guard, the predecessor of the JMSDF, was established on April 26th, 1952, with 4 patrol frigates and 2 Large Landing Ships on loan from the U.S. Navy and its own 70 minesweepers. 63 years has passed since the establishment, and now the JMSDF has high-end capability both in quality and in quantity second only to the U.S. Navy. The two Navies, bound by a deep trust and strong ties of friendship under the Japan-U.S. Security Treaty, are a cornerstone of maritime security in the Western Pacific. However, the two Navies, who had once fought bitterly against each other in the Pacific Ocean, needed to make efforts to understand each other until the present close relationship was established. We often say, A brave man knows other brave men. When the 8th Chief of Staff, JMSDF, Admiral Kazutomi Uchida, who once served the Imperial Japanese Navy, studied at the U.S. Naval War College after the end of the war, he visited to see the Iwo Jima Memorial in Washington D.C. Seeing soldiers of the Memorial, he shed tears, finding that U.S. soldiers had also suffered a lot as the Japanese soldiers did. 1
The U.S. Navy s Admiral Arleigh Burke, who made a significant contribution to establishment of the JMSDF, had a negative sentiment against Japanese people early in his duty in Japan as U.S. occupation forces personnel. However, through exchanges with former Imperial Japanese Navy Admirals whom he had once fought against during the war, he gradually opened his heart to them. It is said that Admiral Burke was laid to rest in a cemetery with a single decoration awarded by the Japanese Emperor on his chest according to his will, though he had received many decorations from other countries in his life. These stories tell us that both the JMSDF and the U.S. Navy have had a hard time and walked on the road together for the last decades. The road has been completely the same as the one which the two countries have changed the Western Pacific from Ocean of War into Ocean of Peace. FROM OCEAN OF PEACE TO OCEAN OF PROSPERITY The presence of the United States covering from the Western Pacific to the Indian Ocean has led the dynamism in the Indo-Pacific region to independence, modernization and economic growth. The wave of economic development, which initially rose in Japan, spread to South Korea, Singapore, Hong Kong and Taiwan and then finally made Southeast Asia including China develop into the center of economic growth of the world. The wave of economic development has also reached in the Indian Ocean. It is estimated that the Indo-Pacific region will make up 50% of the world s population and 50% of GDP by the year of 2030. The global economic center of gravity, which shifted from the Atlantic to the Western Pacific, will move to the Indo-Pacific in the future without doubt. The Western Pacific, which was once Ocean of War, became Ocean of Peace after the end of the World War II. Now it is Ocean of Prosperity which is leading the world s economy after half a century passed. Then, it will not be long before the Indo-Pacific, the area which includes the Indian Ocean as well as the Western Pacific, becomes Ocean of Prosperity. Japan s Prime Minister Abe mentioned in his essay Asia s Democratic Security Diamond released in 2012, that Peace, stability, and freedom of navigation in the Pacific Ocean are inseparable from peace, stability, and freedom of navigation in the Indian Ocean. As he said, even though the Indian Ocean and the Western Pacific are geographically separated, they are so closely related that they cannot be separated both politically and economically. Therefore, we need to regard security in each of these two oceans as identical. The sea lane stretching from the Indian Ocean to the Western Pacific is an economic highway to convey energy and goods necessary to the growth and development of the region. Every day, oil tankers whose full load displacement are over 300,000 tons navigates in the Indian Ocean to and from east and west, and large-sized container ships whose length are over 350 meters loading multinational containers navigates back and forth between main ports or harbors. In the Philippines, there are sailors training institutions sponsored by Japanese commercial ship companies, where the local young people study hard to make their dreams of becoming sailors come true. It is no longer uncommon that commercial ship industry deal with multinational freight and sailors and transportation organizations are internationalized. 2
Although the Indo-Pacific is the center of economic growth of the world, the region still includes some countries which are weak in their economic infrastructure. The Asian Financial Crisis beginning in Thailand in 1997 spread to the entire Southeast Asia. In the Indo-Pacific region, there underlies the risk that the similar crisis can occur again as a result of an economic turmoil in one country. In order to prevent such risks from rising to the surface, we have to continue leading regional dynamism to stable economic development. As a prerequisite for this, the ocean of the Indo-Pacific region must be always open and stable for freedom of navigation so that free maritime trade is ensured at all times. That is to say, in order to make the Indo-Pacific Ocean of Prosperity, we need to further develop the regional maritime security with much greater efforts of multi-lateral frameworks beyond each country s own interest ever than before. In recent years, however, in the ocean of this region have been lying some challenges that we must cope with. The first one is that transnational threats on land have affected maritime security. In the Gulf of Aden which connects the Indian Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea, ships and aircraft of the coalition Navies from around the world are engaged in escorting commercial vessels. Thanks to these countries efforts, incidents of piracy have sharply decreased in the past years. However, reconstructing the domestic situation in Somalia seems far from realization because of interference of the Islamic militant groups, though the reconstruction is necessary to eradicate root causes of the piracy. The Port of Aden in the Republic of Yemen located on the opposite shore of Somalia was one of candidate ports for a Japanese anti-piracy deployment force s supply base 6 years ago. But the port city is chaotic due to a mix of domestic political turmoil, Islamic militant groups activities and other national and transnational threats. It is no longer a safe place to have any ships make a port call on. Yemen has a geographical advantage of taking control of the Strait of Bab el Mandeb, a choke point connecting the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. Therefore, countries around the world need to regard not only the piracy but also the situation in Yemen as a risk of maritime security in the western Indian Ocean. Meanwhile, in the South China Sea, neighboring countries are facing new challenges which are difficult to deter in a traditional way, in addition to traditional threats such as piracy and armed robbery around the Malacca Strait and in other archipelagos. A distinct example is land reclamation activity supported by maritime law enforcement organizations at coral reefs in a contested area of the South China Sea. Since most countries in the Western Pacific are maritime nations, steady economic growth is inevitably followed by modernization and reinforcement of their naval power. Especially for maritime nations, naval power is an essential element of their national powers to maintain their independence without being underestimated by other countries. Naval power, as well as maritime law enforcement organizations, is an important enabler to ensure maritime security, therefore buildup of naval power itself should not be denied. However, a certain country s national defense policy including reinforcement of naval power with poor transparency possibly induces a sense of anxiety and distrust among its neighboring countries. Furthermore, problems between countries must be solved by peaceful means under international law and norms. If one country ignores this and imposes its own unilateral interpretation of international law on its neighboring countries, freedom of navigation 3
which is vitally indispensable for Ocean of Prosperity can be threatened and an unexpected incident at sea can occur as a result. International law is consent-based, and this means that any entity is not obliged to abide by it. In order to counter the state practice secured by international law, national law and maritime law enforcement organizations even though the practice is based on the country s own unilateral interpretation of international law, a traditional deterrence, which is a combination of a nuclear capability and a conventional capability, is not considered to function effectively because the threshold for the use of such capability is too high. Nevertheless, if related countries overlook it, the similar practice can spread to other areas in the world and threaten the existing international order which has secured peace and stability in the world. Professor Nicholas Spykman stressed the strategic importance of three seas in the world which connect five continents. The first is the Mediterranean Sea between the Eurasian Continent and the African Continent, and the second is the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico between North and South America. The third is the South China Sea and its neighboring waters in Southeast Asia connecting the Eurasian Continent and the Australian Continent, and it is likened to the Mediterranean Sea of Asia. The Roman Empire and the United States projected their maritime power to transform the Mediterranean Sea and the Caribbean Sea respectively into their inland seas, broadening their spheres of influence to their neighboring areas both politically and economically. China is making rapid progress in its land reclamation at coral reefs of the Spratly Islands in spite of related countries oppositions. In case the reclaimed artificial island is used for the military purpose, the entire South China Sea can be covered by China s sphere of military influence. The South China Sea is the economic center of gravity of the Indo-Pacific, where important sea lanes stretch to and from all directions. In order to make the Indo-Pacific Ocean of Prosperity, it will be vitally important that the South China Sea is free and open waters all the time. A problem which has newly arisen in the South China Sea must be solved by peaceful means under international law so that the dispute will not be escalated into armed conflict. AIMING FOR AN OCEAN OF PROSPERITY Walter R. Mead mentions that conflicts among great powers are appearing in Europe and in Asia recently over territories, sea lanes, continental shelves or rules of oceans. In order to avoid turning the Indo-Pacific into Ocean of War again and make it Ocean of Prosperity, what can and should the regional Navies do? First of all, each country must ensure a solid alliance or friendly relations with the United States, for example, the Japan-U.S. alliance, to maintain the presence of the United States in the region. The U.S. s presence is required now and in the future for peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region. Since the U.S. Navy is advancing the rebalance to the Asia-Pacific region, each regional Navy needs to adapt itself to new strategic environment synchronized with the U.S. rebalance and enhance its own naval power both in quality and in quantity simultaneously. 4
Since the end of the Cold War, each country has repeated redefinition of alliance to adopt itself to new strategic environment. The countries have cooperated with each other to make commitments to global issues such as regional conflicts rising to the surface after the end of the Cold War and proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. Moreover, the 9.11 attacks which totally changed security environment in the world in 2001 became a trigger for countries all over the world to join international efforts to fight against transnational threats. Also the Japan-U.S. Alliance was no exception of the redefinition. In 2006, the two countries leaders shared the view that they would work together to transform the Alliance into the global one, and redefined the Alliance under which the two countries would make cooperative efforts not only to maintain regional stability and prosperity but also to respond to global challenges in coordination with international community. Furthermore, in April this year the Guidelines for Japan-U.S. Defense Cooperation was revised for the first time in 18 years. The Guidelines stipulates that the two countries will further strengthen the Japan-U.S. cooperative relationship in peacetime and play more important roles in maintaining international peace and stability so that the Japan-U.S. Alliance will be more effective than ever before. Japan s Prime Minister Abe called the Alliance an Alliance of Hope in his recent address to a Joint Meeting of the U.S. Congress, saying that We must make the vast seas stretching from the Pacific to the Indian Oceans, into the seas of peace and freedom, where all follow the rule of law. For that very reason we must fortify the Japan-U.S. Alliance. Many of the challenges of the Indo-Pacific region s security have occurred at sea. It is no exaggeration to say that the Japan-U.S. Alliance is a maritime alliance. I hope that the JMSDF, as an anchor of the Alliance, will enhance interoperability with the U.S. Navy to help maintain the United States presence in this region. Secondly, the regional Navies need to promote multi-layered cooperation at sea. In the Western Pacific, we have had a Navy-to-Navy network, the Western Pacific Naval Symposium (WPNS) for more than 27 years, contributing to promoting mutual understanding and improving capabilities of the member countries Navies. At first, I suggest that the WPNS connect with the Indian Ocean Naval Symposium (IONS), the network of the Navies around the Indian Ocean so that these two networks can cooperate to ensure the safety of maritime commons in waters ranging from the Indian Ocean to the Pacific Ocean. Now that interdependence between countries has globally expanded, not only in economy but also in every field, a small local incident can exert a grave impact on the entire world on the following day. Therefore, it has been increasingly important for us to terminate an incident at sea concerning security before it becomes a crisis. The UNCLOS has broadened coastal countries jurisdiction in international waters. Each country s maritime law enforcement organization, once engaged in law enforcement in its coastal waters only, is now in charge of enforcing its jurisdiction in the EEZ, 200 miles from the coast. So the chances for each maritime law enforcement organization to have a contact with its neighboring countries counterparts have been increasing. Steady economic development reinforces maritime law enforcement organizations as well. Large-sized coast guard ships with similar equipment to Navies 5
have been commissioned recently. In contested areas related to continental shelves or seabed resources, maritime law enforcement organizations face off for the jurisdiction against each other at first. When the situation escalates, it is expected that the Navies will finally appear. Therefore, promoting cooperation at sea should be applied to the Navies, as well as to the networks of maritime law enforcement organizations. In the Navy chiefs conference of the last year s WPNS, the use of the Code for Unplanned Encounter at Sea (CUES), CUES between Naval ships and aircraft has been adopted. As I mentioned, maritime security incidents must be terminated before it becomes a crisis, in the so-called Phase Zero. For this purpose, the member countries Navies need to share the way of communication which is easier to understand each other without any misunderstanding. The biggest advantage of the CUES is that the voice communication should be conducted by using the code without having a conversation. So, the communication has become easier between any Navies even if their mother languages are different. The CUES cannot prevent a country from taking deliberate actions. But, thanks to the CUES, sailors are more relieved because they know that they can communicate with their foreign counterparts even in a limited way in case of unplanned encounters at sea. On this point, the CUES is much more effective than we have expected. Therefore, I hope that maritime law enforcement organizations, main actors in the Phase Zero, will also apply the CUES at the earliest possible time. Eight countries out of 21 WPNS member countries don t have a maritime law enforcement organization, so the Navies of these eight countries are engaged in law enforcement. Applying the CUES will be a good opportunity for both the Navies and maritime law enforcement organizations to clear a barrier between them and collaborate with each other to achieve the common goal of maintaining the open and stable ocean. Thirdly, what the Navies should do is capacity building. In order to ensure maritime security, Navyto-Navy close cooperation and collaboration are essential. It is necessary that each Navy has a fundamental capability for self-help in principle prior to joining international cooperation. The circle of multi-lateral cooperation can be broken apart from its weaker point. Because the WPNS member countries Navies are largely different in their capacities, the members have been placing much importance on capacity building among its activities. Japan has been engaged in only human support such as educating personnel and providing lectures or training courses so far. However, now that transfer of defense equipment and technology for maintaining international peace and safety is permitted, I believe that Japan will make both personnel and material contribution toward capacity building. CONCLUSION In a country experiencing rapid economic development, there is a tendency that nationalism is on the rise in proportion to the increase of the country s national power. Pure nationalism becomes the people s energy to make the country further develop. However, in case that the country collides with other countries regarding their vitally important national interests such as the jurisdiction over territorial lands or waters, the nationalism is often directed to outside the country and can cause an unexpected serious incident. As we can find in a history that the countries, even once in a very close economic interdependent partnership, fought against each other in the battle, we have to keep in 6
mind that the world of international politics is too foggy to be forecast even though we have highly advanced information technology in this modern times. In October 1520, a Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan reached the Pacific Ocean after passing through the strait in southernmost South America, which would be called the Strait of Magellan later on. It is said that the name of the Pacific Ocean came from the Latin word El Mare Pacificum meaning peaceful ocean because it was calm compared with the furious Atlantic Ocean. At this moment, three ships of the Japan Training Squadron, with many newly commissioned ensigns on board, are heading south along the east coast of South American Continent to pass through the Strait of Magellan in the end of August. After passing through the Strait, they will see the Pacific Ocean which I believe will be as peaceful as the one Magellan encountered about 500 years ago. For 500 years since the encounter with Western civilization, the Pacific Ocean experienced peace only for a short period of time although it had been on the periphery of the world history. In particular, the collision with the modern Europe had changed the Western Pacific into Ocean of War for many years. The Pacific Ocean has now become Ocean of Prosperity ; however its peace is counting on us. To prevent the Pacific Ocean from reverting back to Ocean of War, and to keep the Pacific Ocean in peace for the years to come, we are expected to strengthen our cooperation and effort more than ever before. Thank you for your kind attention. 7